Lack of Grand Bargain Complicates Obama's Priorities

For President Barack Obama, the new year was supposed to bring an end to fiscal-cliff negotiations and the opportunity to begin work on a second-term agenda.

But the failure to craft a grand bargain to address the country's fiscal woes means that contentious discussions about spending cuts and the debt ceiling will continue in 2013—potentially diminishing the time and goodwill Mr. Obama needs to pursue his policy priorities.